The subject matter disclosed herein generally relates to elevator systems and, more particularly, to guide rail supports configured to account for building settling.
Current elevator systems use one type of guide rail to form a guide rail track upon which an elevator car and/or counterweight may travel. For proper operation and/or safety, various forces must be considered when designing and constructing an elevator guide rail. Such considerations may require specific guide rail sizing which may impact the total weight and cost of the installation of an elevator system within a building. For example, the taller a building and elevator system is, the stronger the guide rail needs to be. Thus, for taller and/or larger buildings or other structures that include elevator systems, relatively large guide rails may be required to support the weight of the elevator car(s) and/or counterweight(s) and the associated forces generated thereby. On current designs, one size guide rail, i.e., one cross-sectional shape, is used to make a single or whole guide rail track.
One factor that may impact the forces exerted upon a guide rail track is the force of the building during settling over time. If the settling forces become too great, the guide rail may suffer from a stress within a cross-section of the guide rail or other negative impacts.